Table tennis: Alexis Lebrun eliminated in Las Vegas, Félix joins the surprising Lilian Bardet in the quarterfinals

Despite a big scare, Félix Lebrun qualified for the quarter-finals of the Grand Smash in Las Vegas on Thursday night, defeating Germany's Benedikt Duda in a playoff (11-2, 11-9, 10-12, 6-11, 11-8). The world number 7 will face his compatriot Lilian Bardet in the next round, who has been impressive since the start of the competition and who earlier on Thursday beat Denmark's Jonathan Groth in four sets (11-9, 14-12, 9-11, 14-12).

Under Bardet's watchful eye, the youngest of the Lebrun brothers experienced a riot of emotions, and his celebratory shout of rage at the end of the match was a sign of great relief. Having started off well, notably with a first set won quickly and a second also in his pocket, Félix Lebrun saw the match become more complicated as the minutes ticked by.

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In the third set, he first missed two match points and handed the set to Duda, who then gained confidence to come back to level the score and snatch the tiebreaker. The Montpellier player, sometimes irritated, was even down 5-2 in the final set. But he finally regained the upper hand to pull away.

The day was ultimately perfect for the 18-year-old table tennis player, who had already beaten his opponent a few hours earlier, winning in doubles alongside his brother Alexis against the pair composed of the world No. 12 and Dang Qiu (3-1).

After Bardet and Félix Lebrun, Alexis Lebrun and Jianan Yuan lost in the last 16 of this Grand Smash, the equivalent of a Grand Slam tournament in tennis and organized for the first time in the United States this season.

The world number 11 was defeated by the Japanese Yuta Tanaka (60th) in five sets (10-12, 11-5, 11-7, 5-11, 9-11) while Jianan Yuan (25th) was dominated by the Chinese Chen Xingtong, world number 3 and victorious in three sets (8-11, 6-11, 7-11).